Msgr. Ettore Balestrero, under
secretary for Relations with States met this morning with Helena
Keleher, charge d'affaires a.i. of the Embassy of Ireland to the Holy
See, and consigned to her the "Holy See's Response to the Irish
Government concerning the Cloyne Report".

The Cloyne Report was
published by the Commission of Investigation into the Diocese of Cloyne.
Eamon Gilmore, Irish deputy prime minister and minister for foreign
affairs and trade, in the course of a meeting on 14 July with Archbishop
Giuseppe Leanza, apostolic nuncio to Ireland, requested him to convey a
copy of the report to the Holy See, together with the Irish
Government's views on the matters raised, to which the minister
requested a response.

Recognising the seriousness of the crimes
detailed in the report, which should never have happened within the
Church of Jesus Christ, and wishing to respond to the Irish Government's
request, the Holy See, after carefully examining the Cloyne Report and
considering the many issues raised, has sought to respond
comprehensively.

A summary of the response is given below.

1. General remarks about the Cloyne ReportThe
Holy See has carefully examined the Cloyne Report, which has brought to
light very serious and disturbing failings in the handling of
accusations of sexual abuse of children and young people by clerics in
the diocese of Cloyne.

The Holy See wishes to state at the outset its
profound abhorrence for the crimes of sexual abuse which took place in
that diocese and is sorry and ashamed for the terrible sufferings which
the victims of abuse and their families have had to endure within the
Church of Jesus Christ, a place where this should never happen. It is
very concerned at the findings of the Commission concerning grave
failures in the ecclesiastical governance of the diocese and the
mishandling of allegations of abuse. It is particularly disturbing that
these failures occurred despite the undertaking given by the bishops and
religious superiors to apply the guidelines developed by the Church in
Ireland to help ensure child protection and despite the Holy See's norms
and procedures relating to cases of sexual abuse. However, the approach
taken by the Church in Ireland in recent times to the problem of child
sexual abuse is benefiting from ongoing experience and proving more and
more effective in preventing the recurrence of these crimes and in
dealing with cases as they arise.

2. Issues raised by the Cloyne Report

The
Holy See's Response addresses in detail the various charges made
against it, which seem to be based primarily on the Cloyne Report's
account and assessment of the letter addressed to the Irish bishops on
31 January 1997 by the then apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Luciano
Storero, concerning the response of the Congregation for the Clergy to
the document "Child Sexual Abuse: Framework for a Church Response" (the
Framework Document). The Commission of Inquiry asserts that this
response gave comfort to those who dissented from the stated official
Church policy and was unsupportive especially in relation to reporting
to the civil authorities.The Holy See wishes to state the following in relation to the response of the Congregation for the Clergy:

The
Congregation described the Framework Document as a "study document" on
the basis of information provided by the Irish bishops, who described
the text not as an official document of the Irish Bishops' Conference,
but, rather, as a "report" of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Advisory
Committee on Child Sexual Abuse by Priests and Religious, recommended
"to individual dioceses and congregations as a framework for addressing
the issue of child sexual abuse".The Irish bishops never sought the
"recognitio" of the Holy See for the Framework Document, which, in
accordance with canon 455 of the Code of Canon Law, would have been
required only if they intended it to be a general decree of the
conference binding on all its members. However, the lack of "recognitio"
itself did not preclude the application of the document's guidelines,
since individual bishops could adopt them without having to refer to the
Holy See. This is, in fact, what generally happened in Ireland.

The
Irish bishops consulted the congregation to resolve difficulties
relating to some of the content of the Framework Document. The
congregation offered advice to the bishops with a view to ensuring that
the measures which they intended to apply would prove effective and
unproblematic from a canonical perspective. For this reason, the
congregation drew attention to the requirement that these measures
should be in harmony with canonical procedures in order to avoid
conflicts that could give rise to successful appeals in Church
tribunals. The congregation did not reject the Framework Document.
Rather, it wanted to ensure that the measures contained in the Framework
Document would not undermine the bishops' efforts to discipline those
guilty of child abuse in the Church. At the same time, it is important
to bear in mind the decision of the Holy See in 1994 to grant special
provisions to the bishops of the United States to deal with child sexual
abuse in the Church. These provisions were extended to the bishops of
Ireland in 1996 to assist them to overcome difficulties that they were
experiencing at that time (cf. part six of the response).

Meeting
canonical requirements to ensure the correct administration of justice
within the Church in no way precluded co-operation with the civil
authorities. The Congregation for the Clergy did express reservations
about mandatory reporting, but it did not forbid the Irish bishops from
reporting accusations of child sexual abuse nor did it encourage them to
flout Irish law. In this regard, the then prefect of the congregation,
Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, in his meeting with the Irish bishops
at Rosses Point, County Sligo (Ireland), on 12 November 1998
unequivocally stated: "I also wish to say with great clarity that the
Church, especially through its pastors (bishops), should not in any way
put an obstacle in the legitimate path of civil justice, when such is
initiated by those who have such rights, while at the same time, she
should move forward with her own canonical procedures, in truth, justice
and charity towards all". It should be noted that, at the time, not
only the Church but also the Irish State was engaged in efforts to
improve its own legislation on child sexual abuse. To this end, the
Irish government organized an extensive consultation on mandatory
reporting in 1996 and, after taking into account the reservations
expressed by various professional groups and individuals in civil
society - views broadly in line with those expressed by the congregation
- it decided not to introduce mandatory reporting into the Irish legal
system. Given that the Irish government of the day decided not to
legislate on the matter, it is difficult to see how Archbishop Storero's
letter to the Irish bishops, which was issued subsequently, could
possibly be construed as having somehow subverted Irish law or
undermined the Irish State in its efforts to deal with the problem in
question.

3. Issues raised by Irish political leaders

The Holy See wishes to state the following in relation to some of the reactions of Irish political leaders:While
the Holy See understands and shares the depth of public anger and
frustration at the findings of the Cloyne Report, which found expression
in the speech made by the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, in Dail Eireann on 20
July 2011, it has significant reservations about some aspects of the
speech. In particular, the accusation that the Holy See attempted "to
frustrate an inquiry in a sovereign, democratic republic as little as
three years ago, not three decades ago" is unfounded. Indeed, when
asked, a government spokesperson clarified that Mr Kenny was not
referring to any specific incident.

In fact, accusations of
interference by the Holy See are belied by the many reports cited as the
basis for such criticisms. Those reports - lauded for their exhaustive
investigation of sexual abuse and the way it was managed - contain no
evidence that the Holy See meddled in the internal affairs of the Irish
State or was involved in the day-to-day management of Irish dioceses or
religious congregations with respect to sexual abuse issues. Indeed,
what is impressive about these reports, and the vast information that
they rely upon, is that there is no support for these accusations.

In
this regard, the Holy See wishes to make it quite clear that it in no
way hampered or sought to interfere in any inquiry into cases of child
sexual abuse in the diocese of Cloyne. Furthermore, at no stage did the
Holy See seek to interfere with Irish civil law or impede the civil
authority in the exercise of its duties.

The Holy See would also
point out that the text of the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger quoted by
Mr Kenny in his speech is taken from No. 39 of the "Instruction on the
Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian", published by the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith on 24 May 1990. This text is concerned
neither with the manner in which the Church should behave within a
democratic society nor with issues of child protection, as Mr Kenny's
use of the quotation would seem to imply, but with the theologian's
service to the Church community.

In his meeting with the apostolic
nuncio, Eamon Gilmore deputy prime minister and minister for foreign
affairs and trade, stated that "among the most disturbing of the
findings of the Cloyne report is that the Vatican authorities undermined
the Irish Church's own efforts to deal with clerical child sexual abuse
by describing the framework document adopted by the bishops' conference
as a mere 'study document'". As is made clear in the Holy See's
response this description was based on the explanations of its nature as
provided by the Irish bishops and in the published text itself. In no
way was it a dismissal of the serious efforts undertaken by the Irish
bishops to address the scourge of child sexual abuse.

With regard to
the motion passed in Dail Eireann on 20 July 2011, and by Seanad Eireann
a week later, deploring "the Vatican's intervention which contributed
to the undermining of the child protection framework and guidelines of
the Irish State and the Irish bishops" the Holy See wishes to clarify
that at no stage did it make any comment about the Irish State's child
protection measures, let alone seek to undermine them. The Holy See
observes that there is no evidence cited anywhere in the Cloyne Report
to support the claim that its supposed "intervention" contributed to
their "undermining". As for those of the Irish bishops, the response
offers sufficient clarifications to show that these were in no way
undermined by any intervention of the Holy See.

4. Concluding remarks

In
its response, the Holy See offers a presentation of the Church's
approach to child protection, including the relevant canonical
legislation, and refers to the Holy Father's "Letter to the Catholics of
Ireland", published on 19 March 2010, in which Pope Benedict indicates
his expectation that the Irish bishops will co-operate with the civil
authorities, to implement fully the norms of canon law and to ensure the
full and impartial application of the child safety norms of the Church
in Ireland.The publication of the Cloyne Report marks a further
stage in the long and difficult path of ascertaining the truth, of
penance and purification, and of healing and renewal of the Church in
Ireland. The Holy See does not consider itself extraneous to this
process but shares in it in a spirit of solidarity and commitment.

In
a spirit of humility, the Holy See, while rejecting unfounded
accusations, welcomes all objective and helpful observations and
suggestions to combat with determination the appalling crime of sexual
abuse of minors. The Holy See wishes to state once again that it shares
the deep concern and anxiety expressed by the Irish authorities, by
Irish citizens in general and by the bishops, priests, religious and lay
faithful of Ireland with regard to the criminal and sinful acts of
sexual abuse perpetrated by clergy and religious. It also recognises the
understandable anger, disappointment and sense of betrayal of those
affected - particularly the victims and their families - by these vile
and deplorable acts and by the way in which they were sometimes handled
by Church authorities, and for all of this it wishes to reiterate its
sorrow for what happened. It is confident that the measures which the
Church has introduced in recent years at a universal level, as well as
in Ireland, will prove more effective in preventing the recurrence of
these acts and contribute to the healing of those who suffered abuse and
to the restoration of mutual confidence and collaboration between
Church and State authorities, which is essential for the effective
combating of the scourge of abuse. Naturally, the Holy See is well aware
that the painful situation to which the episodes of abuse have given
rise cannot be resolved swiftly or easily, and that although much
progress has been made, much remains to be done.

Since the early days
of the Irish State and especially since the establishment of diplomatic
relations in 1929, the Holy See has always respected Ireland's
sovereignty, has maintained cordial and friendly relations with the
country and its authorities, has frequently expressed its admiration for
the exceptional contribution of Irish men and women to the Church's
mission and to the betterment of peoples throughout the world, and has
been unfailing in its support of all efforts to promote peace on the
island during the recent troubled decades. Consistent with this
attitude, the Holy See wishes to reaffirm its commitment to constructive
dialogue and co-operation with the Irish government, naturally on the
basis of mutual respect, so that all institutions, whether public or
private, religious or secular, may work together to ensure that the
Church and, indeed, society in general will always be safe for children
and young people.

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